Collapsible playyard system

Abstract

A playyard system having an upper rail assembly with two parallel upper long side rails and two parallel upper short end rails. Each of the upper rails has a hinge with horizontal pivot pins adjacent to the midpoint thereof. The upper rail assembly also includes four upper corner brackets with hinges coupling the remote exterior ends of the four upper rails for rotation thereabout. In association with the upper rail assembly is a lower rail assembly with two parallel lower long side rails. Each of the lower rails has a hinge with vertical pivot pins adjacent to the midpoint thereof. The lower rail assembly also includes four lower corner brackets with pivot pins coupling the exterior remote ends of the lower rails to the lower corner brackets for oscillation of the lower rails about their axes and for pivoting with respect to the corner brackets. A pair of lower cross bars is included as part of the lower rail assembly. Each lower cross bar has exterior remote ends coupled to the lower rails at regions thereof intermediate the exterior remote ends and the midpoints of the lower rails for oscillating the lower rails about their axes and for rotating the cross rails with respect to the side rails. Each lower cross bar includes a hinge with horizontal pivot pins adjacent to the midpoints of the cross bars. Four vertical corner rails have upper ends fixedly secured to the four upper corner brackets and have lower ends fixedly secured to the four lower corner brackets.

What is claimed as being new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows: 
     
       1. A collapsible playyard system comprising, in combination: an upper rail assembly positionable in a horizontal plane in a rectangular configuration when deployed including two parallel upper long side rails and two parallel upper short end rails, each of the upper rails having an operator-controlled hinge with a horizontal pivot pin at the midpoint of each of the upper rails adapted to allow each of the upper rails to pivot downwardly about their pivot pins when moving from the deployed orientation to the collapsed orientation, the upper rail assembly also including four upper corner brackets with hinges and horizontal pivot pins coupling the remote exterior ends of the four upper rails for rotation thereabout;   a lower rail assembly positionable in a horizontal plane when deployed including two parallel lower long side rails located generally beneath the upper long side rails, each of the lower rails having a hinge with vertical pivot pins at the midpoint of each of the lower rails adapted to allow each of the lower rails to pivot laterally about their pivot pins when moving from the deployed orientation to the collapsed orientation, each of the lower rails having remote exterior ends, the lower rail assembly also including four lower corner brackets with hinges and horizontal pivot pins coupling the exterior remote ends of the lower rails to the lower corner brackets, the exterior ends of the lower rails being circumferentially slotted for receiving the horizontal pivot pins of the lower corner brackets to allow for oscillation of the lower rails about their axes, each lower rail including two Z-shaped sections adjacent to their associated corner brackets, the lower rail assembly also including a pair of lower cross bars, each lower cross bar having exterior remote ends coupled to the lower rails at regions thereof intermediate the exterior remote ends and the midpoints of the lower rails, each lower cross bar including a hinge with horizontal pivot pins adjacent to the midpoints of the cross bars adapted to pivot the lower cross bars upwardly when moving from the deployed orientation to the collapsed orientation;   four vertical corner rails having upper ends fixedly secured to the four upper corner brackets and having lower ends fixedly secured to the four lower corner brackets;   a central rail having a central hinge with horizontal pivot pins at the center thereof and with remote exterior ends coupled adjacent to the midpoints of the cross bars whereby movement of the central hinge upwardly will cause the upward movement of the central extents of the cross bars to allow the lower rails to move upwardly about their midpoints, pivoting and oscillating at the lower corner brackets and, concurrently, allow the midpoints of the lower rails to move inwardly toward each other as the four vertical corner rails move to a central location therebetween for movement of the upper and lower rail assemblies to the collapsed orientation from the deployed orientation, the central hinge having a disk thereon with an operator accessible strap thereon; and   a fabric assembly in a rectilinear configuration having an open top with a rectangular hem at its upper edge receiving the upper rail assembly and having a lower generally rectangular horizontal floor positionable on the lower rail assembly with a central aperture for the passage of the central hinge therethrough, the fabric assembly also having four vertical rectangular panels coupling the upper edge and lower floor of the fabric assembly.